Maria Catalina Joseph
Graduate Recipient, Department of Hispanic Languages and Literature
Guiliano Fellow, Spring 2025
“Transnational Connections in Horror Comics from the Metropolitan Cities of São Paulo and Buenos Aires ” (São Paulo, Brazil)
During my stay in São Paulo, I was able to review Brazilian comic archives, focusing
especially on works produced in that city but also exploring materials from other
regions of Brazil. I visited the Gibiteca Henfil comic library, where I spent much
of my time examining its extensive collection. There, I not only reviewed and digitized
a large number of issues from the magazines I had planned to study—such as O Terror
Negro, Gritos de Terror, O Lobisomem, and Calafrio—but I also discovered artists and
comics I had not known before.
I also had the opportunity to attend a panel featuring four prominent comic artists
from Brazil’s contemporary scene: Amanda Miranda, Carol Borges, João Pinheiro, and
Alcimar Frazão. Among them was Amanda Miranda, one of the artists currently working
on horror comics from a feminist perspective (image attached below).
Additionally, through the Gibiteca Henfil, I met several other artists who explore
horror from different angles. One of them was Bianca Pinheiro, with her book Dora,
as well as the creators of Beladona, Ana Recalde and Denis Mello. Both are contemporary
approaches to horror featuring female protagonists who cease to be passive characters
and instead drive the narrative forward. I also learned about the Brazilian horror
icon Zé do Caixão and its comic adaptations by Nico Rosso and later by Laudo Ferreira.
Lastly, I attended another talk where Marilia Marz discussed the creative process
behind her book Indivisível, a work of memory in which elements of horror intertwine
with the historical erasure of Black memory in Brazil (image attached below).
Overall, without the support of the Edward Guiliano ‘78, PhD, Global Fellowship Program,
it would not have been possible for me to delve so deeply into my research topics.